Some local residents in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, have reportedly fled to mainland Myanmar including Yangon due to fierce fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) in recent days.

Thousands of Muslims from several villages in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships have fled to safer locations since May 5 due to the possibility of fighting near their villages.

Forty-nine villages in Ponnagyun Township are facing serious water shortages as lakes and reservoirs have dried up due to intense heat, according to the Ponnagyun Youth Association(PYA).

A village administrator in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, where tensions between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) are escalating, has reportedly been detained and gone missing since his arrest.

The regime said it had sent a cargo ship carrying more than 1,500 tonnes of food, consumer goods, cooking oil, medicines, building materials and charcoal for the benefit of civilians in Sittwe.

Arakkha Army (AA) chief Twan Mrat Naing has responded to criticisms regarding the Muslim issue in Arakan State, where the regime and the AA are locked in fierce fighting.

At least 15 people are dead and 27 others were injured after the regime bombed a Buddhist monastery in a Magway Region village where locals were meeting on May 9, Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government (NUG) said in a statement.

Local people in Arakan State who have lost limbs due to landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs) are struggling to make ends meet due to lack of assistance.

“They abducted young people purportedly for the AA. Some were snatched from their shelters, and some on the streets. We don’t know where they were taken. Some have reportedly been released after paying a ransom,” 

The Myanmar military has been destroying key bridges in Maungdaw District in a move believed intended to hamper Arakkha Army (AA) attacks.

It has been nearly two months since the Arakkha Army (AA) launched an offensive in Ann Township, where the Myanmar military’s Western Command headquarters is based.

Two Muslims were injured in a junta artillery strike on Gone Nar Village, Shwe Zarr Village- tract, in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, on Thursday night.

Fierce clashes between the military and AA were reported near Shwehlay, Kwaychaung and Hsuepotegon villages yesterday, with the military firing mortar shells into the scenes of fighting, according to local residents.

The junta attacked positions near Sanae market and the bus station with drones at least six times from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 9, a local man said.

Many displaced people in Arakan State have reported diarrhoea resulting from drinking unclean water. Coupled with serious shortages of medicines due to junta blockades and fighting, some cases have been fatal.

Myanmar’s military regime is planning to open basic education schools in Arakan State when the new academic year starts in June, according to education staff.

Among the internet blackouts, Sagaing Region tallied the most townships at 27, and Arakan State had the second most with 17 townships.

Junta soldiers from the Myo Thu Gyi Village-based No. 5 Border Guard Force headquarters and Muslim militiamen set fire to homes in Shweyinaye Village, said an eyewitness from Kanthayar Village.

The regime is heavily reinforcing its bases in Maungdaw Town amid Arakkha Army (AA) attacks targeting the frontier town on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.